Unsuccessful voyage of Grigorchuk and drop-in Palyanitsa
During the period of independence, nine Ukrainian football players played in the Austrian Bundesliga. The first is in the 1991/1992 season, so far the last one is in the 2020/2021 season. At the same time, only two of our players spent more than one season in the elite division of the Austrian championship. Before the first match between Dynamo and Sturm, the Sport Arena remembered the Ukrainians who played in the Austrian Bundesliga.
Pioneer Leonov
Of course, the most famous and most stellar player in the Austrian Bundesliga was Oleg Blokhin, who helped Forverst get into the elite, and then stay there. But if we talk about the period of the country’s independence, then the first player who moved from the championship of Ukraine to the championship of Austria was Shakhtar’s forward Igor Leonov.
In the winter of 1992, the striker moved from Donetsk to St. Polten, where he played 10 matches as part of the club of the same name in the second part of the 1991/1992 season, in which he scored one goal.
Interestingly, two seasons later than Leonov, the current head coach of Chernomorets Roman Grigorchuk, who was leaving for Austria from the Carpathian region, ended up in St. Polten. You can’t call a successful voyage: participation in only three matches in which the attacker played a total of 34 minutes.

Stable Suslov and hospitable Admira-Wakker
Two Ukrainian football players who played in the Bundesliga for more than one season were Gennadiy Litovchenko and Oleg Suslov. Moreover, both spent two seasons in the same team – Admira-Wakker.
Litovchenko ended up in this club in the spring of 1993 and played a total of 32 matches for the team, scoring five goals and three assists (19 matches and three goals in the Bundesliga).
As for Oleg Suslov, who left Chernomorets back in 1997, he managed to play for three Austrian clubs, though only in two of them – in the elite division. In the already mentioned St. Polten, where the goalkeeper ended his professional career, the goalkeeper played in the second league. And for Admira-Wakker, the goalkeeper, who at one time shone in the Ukrainian national team (the memorable selection for the 1998 World Cup is largely due to Suslov), has only nine matches in two seasons, six of them in the championship.
Most often – 15 matches – in the Bundesliga, Suslov played for the current Red Bull Salzburg, then still called Austria. The goalkeeper played one more match in the composition of this team for the Cup of the country.
See also: Ukraine dropped to 14th place in the UEFA rankings
Interestingly, another Ukrainian played for Admira-Vakker: midfielder of the national team, Dnipro, Kryvbas and Dynamo Gennady Moroz in the 1995/1996 season played 35 matches for the team, in which he scored one goal (28 fights in the championship).
Efficient Palyanitsa
The most productive Ukrainian football player who played in the Austrian Bundesliga was the ex-forward of the Karpaty, Kryvbas and a number of Ukrainian clubs Oleksandr Palyanitsa. The striker spent the 1996/1997 season in LASK, scoring six goals in 26 matches.
It is noteworthy that the last Ukrainian football player who played in the elite division of the Austrian championship, Evgeny Cheberko, played for the Austrian club so far and played seven matches (348 game minutes) in the 2020/2021 season.
One of ours in Sturm
Only one Ukrainian played directly in Sturm. And even then – very little. Football pilgrim Igor Oshchipko, known primarily for his performances in the Karpaty, in the 2014/2015 season played 3 matches in the club from Graz. He did not score goals, did not differ in productive actions.
Source: Sportarena

I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.